5 Great Summer Cookbooks

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Summer cooking with fresh fruits and vegetables can be immensely satisfying--if done right. That's where these new cookbooks come in. Most are as valuable as reference guides as they are recipe sources, which is ideal in summer. You want to play and experiment with whatever fresh local, seasonal produce you've got on hand. Here are 5 new favorites:

2. Ripe by Nigel Slater: Growing fruit is not quite as simple, but Slater offers both gardening advice and mouthwatering recipes. His Rhubarb Custard Fool is amazing and I can't wait to try his Apricot and Pistachio Crumble.

3. Vegetables, Revised by James Peterson: If you're interested in eating vegetables, but not necessarily growing them, this is an indispensable guide. In this update to his original, Peterson provides an A to Z reference of vegetables including helpful how-to photos that show you preparation techniques for different types of produce.

5. Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day: Of course, you have to have dessert. This Southern dessert collection has everything you crave from Banana Pudding and this peach and blueberry crisp to a killer Brown Sugar Bundt Cake. Each recipe has a little twist and many are portable and perfect for picnics and potlucks.

Of course, we rely on our own Good Housekeeping cookbooks too. If you're looking to go meatless this summer, check out our new Simple Vegan! book. To see which cookbooks we're loving this summer, come on a tour of the test kitchen.